'Focused up' Gerten throws four TDS, P-G stuns McComb

McCOMB -- Pandora-Gilboa quarterback Cory Gerten's first pass of the game was intercepted by McComb's Brad Miehls. It was about the only mistake Gerten – or the Pandora-Giboa offense – made all night. Gerten completed 13 of 16 passes Friday night for 237 yards, and threw four touchdown passes as Pandora-Gilboa upset McComb – the No. 4-ranked team in Division VII – 42-14. It was the Rockets' first win against the Panthers -- who have won the BVC the past two seasons -- since 2020, and their first victory in McComb since 2004. And Gerten was in the middle of all of it. "I just focused up, got the jitters out right away, and the line didn't let me get touched. It was good," said Gerten, who threw two touchdown passes to Brock Stall, and one each to Chase Meyer and Carson Meyer. "We could drive down the field every drive." McComb led the game 7-0 in the first quarter; it turned Gerten's interception into a 2-yard touchdown run by Miehls. But after that, Pandora-Gilboa took control. "Our kids really responded, and I couldn't be more proud of the way they did, and obviously, in this fashion," said Rockets coach Matt Hershey, after his squad improved to 3-2, 2-0 in the BVC. "McComb is a great team. They're still gonna win a lot of ballgames this year, so, for us to come in and get a win tonight was really a big boost for our season." McComb had a first-half touchdown called back on a penalty, and the drive ended with a missed field goal. Meanwhile, after the interception, P-G's offense was only stopped once – and that was because time ran out in the second quarter. Gerten threw TDs of 21 and 26 yards to Stall. Then, with 2:12 left in the half, he found a wide open Chase Meyer over the top for a 34-yard score. The Rockets led, 21-7, at the half. McComb's defense was never able to generate pressure on Gerten, and he kept finding receivers. "I'll tell you what, I don't know where this offensive line came from, but I'm happy they were here tonight on our team," Hershey said. "They catch a lot of (flak) when our running game is not working, but tonight, against a very talented and tough McComb defense, our kids rose to the occasion." McComb's offense rose to the occasion on its opening drive of the third quarter, as it went 70 yard 15 plays – all runs – before Chase Woodruff plowed in from the 1 to reach the end zone. That cut the Panthers lead to 21-14, and gave the Panthers some momentum. It didn't last. Pandora-Gilboa went right down the field, and Gerten found a wide-open Carson Meyer for an 11-yard touchdown with 3:17 left in the third. P-G's receivers made big catches all night, and did it without Colin Harris, who was out with an injury. "McComb always does a good job of taking Aidan Morris out of the game," Hershey said. "He's an all-state receiver, does a great job for us, so we have to find out second, third, fourth options sometimes. Tonight, those guys made plays." But Morris still had a big night, with four catches for 84 yards. So did tailback Andrew Miller who scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and Ben Burkholder, who had 107 yards on the ground. "They just took it to us in every aspect," said McComb coach Kris Alge. "Every part of the game, they beat us." After the touchdown to start the third quarter, McComb's offense stalled, and was forced to punt twice. "Defense played great," Hershey said of the Rockets. "(The Panthers) did have a couple of decent drives on us, but we made them earn every bit of it." McComb (4-1, 1-1 BVC) won its first four games, all by blowout. But Friday was different. "Tonight, it was like the wheels fell off," Alge said. "We have to get a lot better. We have to go back to work. We have a lot of football left, and we're just gonna have to get better." For Pandora-Gilboa, it was an important win. The Rockets dropped two close games to the Panthers last season: 35-28 in the regular season and 26-21 in the Division VII playoffs. "That was a big motivator for tonight," Gerten said. "I was focused up the whole night." It showed. Pandora-Gilboa&emsp;&emsp;7&emsp;&emsp;14&emsp;&emsp;7&emsp;&emsp;14 -- 42 McComb&emsp;&emsp;7&emsp;&emsp;0&emsp;&emsp;7&emsp;&emsp;0 -- 14 McC -- Brad Miehls 2 run (Chase Woodruff kick) P-G -- Brock Stall 21 pass from Cory Gerten (Skylar Richardson kick) Second Quarter P-G -- Stall 26 pass from Gerten (Richardson kick) P-G --Chase Meyer 34 pass from Gerten (Richardson kick) Third Quarter McC -- Woodruff 1 run (Woodruff kick) P-G -- Carson Meyer 11 pass from Gerten (Richardson kick) Fourth Quarter McC -- Andrew Miller 3 run (Richardson kick) McC -- Miller 1 run (Richardson kick)